My 2012 Wish List for Windows Phone

Expand voice commands: TellMe is implemented very nicely in Windows Phone and I have been quite happy with it, even though I don’t use it too regularly. I have seen some limitations though, which I’d like to have implemented soon I cannot say punctuations, so if I am replying to a text message it becomes hard if I want to say two sentences or ask a question. More importantly, the commands do not let me play music/podcasts. One of the things I am most likely to do while driving is skip a song and it would be awesome if the Windows Phone voice commands expand to include interactions with the Music + Videos hub. I am not pushing to go the Siri route yet, because I am quite ok with the search results that bing produces for the common tasks like movie showtimes, weather, restaurant searches, etc.

Allow and/or embrace third party for native experiences: I have started using WhatsApp a lot, because it is available across all mobile platforms, so wouldn’t it be cool if WhatsApp worked within the Messaging Hub instead of being a separate app? If Messaging Hub provided hooks for 3rd parties to integrate into, it would unify notifications and I would not need to track individual apps. Similarly, Microsoft should try to embrace companies like flickr and 500px to hook into Windows Live like how Facebook and Twitter are today. With that hooks in place, I could go to the What’s New section in Pictures Hub and see pictures from my friends off flickr and 500px (or any such photo service). Today I have to rely on corresponding apps to get the same task done.

Add simpler DLNA: When Windows Phone launched, I distinctly remember LG stating that one of the USPs for their devices is DLNA with other LG devices like TVs. Now that a year has passed since launch, I believe DLNA, and that too in a much, much simpler form (think AirPlay) should be part of the OS. I should just be able to select a picture or a folder and send to, say, my Xbox. In fact it would be a great ecosystemselling point, where having a Windows Phone and an Xbox makes it possible to take a video and send it immediately to the TV without any cables or complications. Microsoft has had Play To for some time, but I have seen how easy it is to send pictures and videos to Apple TV from my iPad and Windows Phone absolutely must make it that simple to do something similar.

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Romit Mehta

Romit writes about mobile news and gadgets, and is currently a Windows Phone owner (Nokia Lumia 920).Find him on twitter @TheRomit. Personal site is http://romitmehta.com. View all posts by Romit Mehta